


Presumptuous

by RositaLG



Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: Another London Fic, F/M, First Time, Meeting the Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-12-01 07:02:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11481141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RositaLG/pseuds/RositaLG
Summary: What happens when you have nothing left to lose? Everyone gets a little bolder. My submission for the July Trope challenge.





	1. Chapter 1

“Inspector Robinson, we meet at last.”

Jack spun around, slightly startled from his thoughts. A woman he assumed to be Phryne’s mother stood before him.

Margaret Fisher was the spitting image of her daughter aside from two main differences: her long black and grey hair, which was swept up into a traditional bun more fitting the turn of the century than the incoming decade, and her knowing brown eyes, so unlike her husband’s and daughter’s playful, mischievous blue.

Jack supposed her eyes had seen too much to be playful.

“Baroness Fisher.” Jack acknowledged.

“Please, call me Margaret.” She said as she sized him up with appraising eyes herself.

“Jack.” He nodded. “It’s a pleasure to meet you at last.”

“Please, sit.” She gestured warmly to a chair and he took it. She sat directly across from him and he suddenly felt like he was on the wrong side of an interrogation table.

“So,” Margaret began as she picked up her tea cup and saucer from the tray between them, “what brings you to England, Jack?” She asked cheekily before nonchalantly taking a sip of her tea.

Apparently, the mischievousness didn’t come solely from the Fisher line.

Jack visibly relaxed and smiled at her smart answer.

“Originally, it was at the behest of your daughter, however, I believe that you are partially to thank for the mysterious parcel that appeared on my doorstep.” He assumed.

“I so rarely get to surprise my daughter for the better. I expect I’ll find it quite gratifying.”

“Well, thank you.” Jack said sincerely. “The last time I made that trip I was on a ship full of young soldiers. First class was... quite a different experience.” He confessed with a small smile.

“I expect it was.” She agreed as she set down her tea. “I’ll admit I did have selfish reasons for the invitation, Inspector.”

Jack looked at her puzzled.

“I wanted to meet the man who finally found my Jane.” Margaret explained as if it should have been his one crowning achievement.

“Oh.” Jack felt like a fool for not picking up on that aspect of their reunion sooner.

Margaret placed a hand over his.

“I hope that you never have to know the weight that was lifted from my shoulders that day. It’s a debt that I can never repay.”

“It was my honor.” He assured her, swallowing his usually humble line about the scores of people who actually had a hand in solving the case and accepting her gratitude for what it was, a mother who needed someone specifically to thank.

“And you’ve had more than a favorable influence on my eldest daughter as well. I’ve never heard of her being so happy, and in Melbourne no less.”

“Phryne’s happiness is entirely her own doing.” Jack said confidently. “But she has built quite a -- a social circle there.” He added, purposefully leaving the word family out of his description.

“She’s braver than I am.” Margaret revealed. “I can’t bring myself to go back there. Not for Prudence, not even for Janey. There are too many terrible memories.”

“No one can fault you that.” Jack understood avoidance better than most. “But you don’t have to worry about her. She can take care of herself and when she can’t, there is a small army of people who would rather die than see anything bad come to her.”

Margaret considered him and saw that he was serious.

“Are you in love with my daughter, Inspector?” She asked directly.

“I am.”

“Is she in love with you?”

“I really couldn’t say.”

“Mm.” She pondered, clearly thinking she knew better as she took another sip of her tea.

“Miss Phryne has just pulled round, ma’am.” A servant girl appeared in the doorway. “Shall I send her in?”

“Please.” Margaret said as she set her tea down. “And do not let her know that we have a guest. It’s a surprise.”

“Of course, ma’am.”

Jack’s palms began to sweat, but whether it was from the reunion or their unexpected audience, he couldn’t be sure.

“Mother?” Phryne called down the hall and his heart leapt in his actual chest at the sound of the familiar voice.  

“In here, dear.” She smiled at Jack.

“Why are you back here, you never use the st…” Phryne stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of Jack.

“It was a special occasion.” Margaret beamed as they both stood up. “I believe you know the Inspector?”

“I apologize for the delay, Miss Fisher.” He smiled at her stunned face. “But the only pilot I knew was already booked for England so I had to take the long way around.” He explained.

She stared at him, her hands shaking, before looking towards her mother for confirmation of what she was seeing. When she turned back to him, her shock gave way to incense at seeing his smile and before he could comment on the change, she reached out and slapped him across the cheek.

“Phryne!” Her mother cried out, scandalized.

Jack held up his hand to quiet the older Fisher. There’d been no heart in the weak attack; in fact, he’d barely felt it.

“Six weeks!?” She cried, jabbing the words at him like a dagger.

“Phryne, the Inspector traveled halfway around the world. I believe he was expecting a slightly warmer welcome.” Margaret tried to coax her daughter into a more pleasant mood.

"Not a single word.” Phryne reminded him, never acknowledging her mother’s presence at all. “After the way I left?"

Jack looked down at the plush Persian rug under his feet.

"Jesus, Jack. You frightened me half to death. I thought you’d…” Her voice matched her quivering chin as she folded her arms across her chest defensively.

“No. Never.” Jack promised quickly, wanting to banish that thought from her mind immediately. He took a hesitant step closer, not wanting to push her limits. And while she didn't bridge the remaining gap, Jack seemed to know that she would when she was ready.  

He briefly felt Margaret’s watchful eyes on the scene they were causing and he turned to look at her. She took the hint.

“I’ll leave you two alone.” She demurely slipped out of the room quietly and otherwise unacknowledged.

Phryne looked down and tried to swallow back her emotion but now that they were alone, Jack reached out and cupped her jaw, bringing it back up to face the firelight.

“I’m so sorry, Phryne.” He murmured sincerely. “I never meant to worry you.” He should have guessed that a lifetime of abandonment would have trained her to suspect the worst when he’d not responded to her. “Truthfully, my only thought was getting to you as quickly as I could and it never dawned on me that you might..."

“Oh Jack,” she cried angrily, not wanting to hear his excuses, “just shut up and kiss me already.” Her lips crashed against his with the avarice of almost two months apart, and even more years of self-denial. 

He couldn't get close enough, his fingers weaving up her soft, ebony hair to cradle the back of her head with both hands. He wanted her with a hunger he’d never known. Suddenly, six weeks and halfway around the world seemed like a trivial distance to get to her.

“God, I missed you.” He panted, clinging to her as ardently as she clung to him.

“You wouldn’t have had to if you had answered any one of my telegrams or letters.” She reminded him, not giving up her anger, even as she forgave him for his silence.

“What did they say?”

She looked hesitant to tell him.

"Phryne, please?" Jack prodded, silently willing her to be brave enough to tell him. He’d come halfway around the world for her, he wasn't about to run away from her now.

“Just that...I missed you.” She repeated uncomfortably, her eyes examining his tie. “And that I spent every moment since I left thinking about the way you kissed me goodbye.” She stroked the lapel of his suit jacket.

“As did I.” He assured her, licking his lips and tasting the wax from her lipstick. 

“I wrote about how much I wanted you beside me. Inside me.” She added with a suggestive murmur as she pressed her body against his. 

Jack didn’t have time to blush at her statement; they were already kissing again.

Phryne broke the kiss long enough to take a step back.

“Where are you staying?” She asked.

“With you.” He replied.

Phryne raised her eyebrow.

“Too presumptuous?” He asked with a chuckle at her expression.

“Just presumptuous enough, Inspector.” She replied with a nod towards the door.


	2. Chapter 2

As Phryne led Jack back to her rented apartment, she tried not to let the momentous action get the better of her. She was slightly ashamed at how her body was reacting. She fought to still her trembling hands as she opened her clutch and retrieved the key to unlock the door. She managed a few confident steps into the main parlor as Jack set down his case.

She was grateful to busy herself by taking off her gloves and her scarf.

“Make yourself at home.” She called from hanging her coat in the closet. “You can put your case in the bedroom. There’s a wardrobe in there. Powder room is on the right.” She sounded convincing, but maybe the fact that she sounded so convincing would give her away. Maybe no matter what she said or did, he would see right through her.

Damn him and his outrageously good observational skills, she cursed.

Taking a deep breath, she tried her best to compose herself. Jack Robinson was about to share her living quarters. He wasn’t going to thank her for the evening and politely bow out before anything interesting happened like the old Jack. And she certainly wasn’t going to escort him to the door after she got what she wanted like the old Phryne.

This was new, and it was real, and it was happening tonight.

When she emerged from the closet once more, she realized she was alone.

“Jack?” She called out as she looked around the room. Her eyes caught on his coat, draped over the chair. His shoes had been toed off and abandoned between the chair and the doorway to the bedroom. His hat was hung on the handle of the semi-open bedroom door, a silent invitation to join him.

Phryne grinned at his nerve.

She made it through the door just in time to see his braces fall to his thighs and his shirt land on the floor.

“I see all that time at sea has done you well, Inspector.” She tilted her head to examine his broad shoulders as he bent over to remove his socks. He was undressing with an ease she found appalling given her sudden nerves. What was the matter with her?

“It turns out, I don’t do well when confined to small spaces, especially when I’m on my way to you, so I spent a lot of time at the gymnasium working off my restlessness.” He confessed as he stood up.

“I was referring to your newfound confidence. It suits you.” She praised.

Just as she feared, he assessed her statement too acutely. She glanced briefly up at him as he walked towards her before getting distracted by his chest.

“Phryne,” he smiled as she fidgeted beside him, “are you nervous?”

“Just a little.” She defended. “A few hours ago I thought you had given up on me again and now here you are, in London, wanting to make love to me. I’m doing my best to catch up but it just feels so surreal.” She said as she ran her hands down his bare chest.

“Do you want to wait?” He asked seriously.

“No.” She said so definitively that he chuckled. “I’ve waited long enough for you, don’t you think?”

He nodded slowly and wrapped a long arm around her waist, drawing her closer.

She let him search her gaze until that old intensity flickered between them. She felt the moment it burst into a full blown flame.

“There you are.” He murmured, satisfied that she had found her footing once more. He moved impossibly closer, rubbing his nose against hers before pausing.

“Jack, don’t tease.” She whispered against his jaw.

“We only get this once.” He reminded her as he let his hands slide from the small of her back to her backside. “I want to catalogue every detail.” He took the opportunity to kiss her neck. “The way you look, the way you smell, the way your dress moves under my hands.”

Her body flooded with desire for him as she couldn't help but register his body in return: the unexpected smoothness of his tan skin under her palms, the scent of his pomade, the teasing light in his eyes, the way his lips and tongue moved across her neck.

There was a time when she wouldn’t have appreciated this quiet seduction. She would have whisked him upstairs after supper and had her way with him before Mr. Butler had cleared the table in the dining room. She’d imagined their first time together so many ways, but all of them had been frantic, desperate, and unplanned, like a dam finally breaking. But she was realizing quickly that Jack’s version of luxury wasn't wealth, but time. He relished in her company the way that she relished in a hot bath or silk sheets. She knew better than most that the stoic man before her rarely indulged in anything so she wasn’t about to deny him a single moment when he finally chose to do so.

“Take your time. Soak in every detail. Memorize me.” She encouraged in his ear. “But don’t do it because you think that this moment is fleeting.” She warned as her hands slipped around his torso to his shoulder blades. “If there is anything I can promise, it is that this will happen again. I plan on having you every way imaginable.” Her nails grazed lightly down his back, haunting him with future possibilities of pain. “And a few that aren’t.”

His cock twitched against her as Jack muffled a groan in the curve of her neck.  

She smiled wickedly with pride at the reaction. He pressed her into the nearest wall before looking on at her in frustrated amazement.

“God damn it, woman. How is it that you manage to get your way even when you cooperate with me?” He grimaced with pleasured pain as she used her new leverage to rub herself against the bulge in his trousers.

“It’s a talent.” She crowed as she finally felt some relief at the apex of her thighs. “Want to see another?” She taunted, her smirk only growing.

Jack nodded vigorously.

“God yes.” He endorsed the thought heartily.

OOOOO

When Jack awoke, he was on his side and far too hot. He realized almost immediately that Phryne had managed to press the entire front of her body into his back. She was curled around him, as if he were carrying her on his back. He closed his eyes, trying to ascertain the best way to get out of bed without stirring her. He gently removed her right arm and leg from the top of his body and rolled out sideways, escaping quietly into the cold predawn air to get a glass of water and use the toilet.

When he returned, he took the opportunity to watch her sleeping for a moment. He realized she was still completely dead to the world and he couldn’t help the rush of affection that flowed from his heart as he took her in.

They had finally done it: committed, jumped, risked whatever it was that had been holding them back until now. Here he was in England, standing in her bedroom. She was snoring softly, wrapped around his pillow. They had made love all night long, learning each other’s bodies, asking questions, delighting in finding the answers.

This was his life.

He had experienced enough horrors in his lifetime to know when he should be counting his blessings, but there weren’t enough stars in the sky to even sum up his current situation so he took himself to the parlor, remembering his abandoned clothes and case. He picked up his things and dropped them in a neat pile on the sofa, where his eyes caught an envelope with his name and address on it on the coffee table.

He looked over his shoulder at the bedroom door before flipping the envelope over, it was unsealed.

Unable to resist seeing what she had written, especially given his silence, he pulled the letter out and began to read. He finished the letter and was halfway through reading it once more when she woke.

“Jack, come back to bed. It’s early.” He heard her groan from the bedroom.

His feet began to do her bidding, while his eyes stayed on the paper before him. When he reappeared in the bedroom, she was still wrapped around his pillow, eyes closed.

“Did you mean this?” He inquired as he sat down on the edge of the bed beside her. She opened her eyes and half-turned to see him holding out the letter. She didn’t seem to need clarification for what he had found.

“I was upset.” She sat up on her knees, trying to stage her defense through a groggy brain. “I thought you had let me go and I…”

He returned his attention to the letter and began reading sections of it back to her.

“ _You may be able to cut ties without another word, but I cannot and I want to be honest with you_.” He read on. “ _I don’t know what has caused your sudden silence, but whatever it may be, I want you to know that it has hurt me deeply.”_ He turned his attention to her. “True or false?” He asked.

“True.” She nodded. “But Jack…” She put her hands on his shoulders to try and stop him but he silently skipped ahead further down the letter before continuing.

 _“I never asked for any of this, and yet, when I left Australia, I found myself wanting it. I hoped for things I’d never considered hoping for_.” He paused again, silently awaiting her response.

“True.” She replied, before kissing the back of his neck in apology.

“Do you still want it?” He asked as he cast the letter aside on the nightstand. He knew the answer but he wanted to hear what her response would be to the direct question.

“I want you.” She replied hoarsely. “And whatever comes with you.”

Jack turned around to glance at her and his chest overflowed with the affection he saw for him.

“Then it’s yours.” He told her, taking her hand off his shoulder to kiss it before covering it again with his own.

He felt her head against the back of his and they both inhaled deeply, feeling the weight of their words on their chests.

Phryne tugged at him, silently pulling him back into bed and he went willingly. He lay beside her and she returned to his embrace immediately, entwining herself around him.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Mmhm.”

“Are you this tactile with all your lovers or are you afraid I’m going to leave?” He inquired with a small smile.

She looked down at her arm barricading him to the mattress.

“Have I been trapping you?” She asked with a faint blush.

“Absolutely not,” he made his opinions on her constant contact very clear, “but you haven’t taken a hand off me since we came in here.” He grinned. “Not that I’m complaining. It’s a lovely hand.”

“I’m making sure it's not a dream. That you’re real.”

“I am.”

“You’re here in London. For me. Because you…” She stopped herself from finishing the thought out loud.

“Because I love you. You can say it.” He smiled. 

“Because you love me.” She finished, trying the words for the first time. “And I love you.” She offered in return.

“And I’m very grateful for that.” He smiled, already knowing it was true but glad to hear her say it.

“What does that mean for us, when we go back?”

“I don’t know. I suppose we’ll figure it out as we go.” Jack was trying very hard not to think about it.

“If we were there right now, I’d have Mr. Butler lock the bedroom door from the outside and just spend the rest of my days with this Jack: naked, open, looking tousled and handsome.” She ran a hand through his unruly curls as he laughed at the thought.

“And what precisely are your going rates for kept men?” He smirked.

“I’ve been told I’m quite generous.” She replied smugly.

“A tempting offer, to be sure.” He replied. “But be careful what you wish for, Miss Fisher. What you’re suggesting sounds an awful lot like commitment.”

There was a hint of reality behind his playful warning that took Phryne by surprise. She sat up to examine his expression.

“Of course I’m committed to you, Jack.” She said seriously. “You came halfway across the world for me. You don’t think I would have done the same for you?”

He didn’t respond, unsure of what she was agreeing to.

“I know that my version of commitment might not look like it in the traditional sense of the word, but I thought with you coming here, you'd want…” She paused, panicked by his unrelenting silence. “Too presumptuous?” She asked, sheepishly wondering if she had gotten it all wrong. 

Jack shook his head.

"Just enough I think." He repeated with a smirk at her rambling. 


	3. Chapter 3

Happy Friday! *changes the rating of this fic* E is for Epilogue, right? ; ) 

OOOOO

“A telegram for you, Miss.” Mr. Butler entered the parlor, interrupting her reunion with Dot with a rather worried face. Phryne’s stomach dropped as she contemplated all the reasons a telegram might come from her parents. 

“Thank you, Mr. Butler.” She took it from him quickly and opened it. 

_ Glad you arrived safely in Darwin STOP Miss you STOP JR  _

Phryne frowned in confusion before realizing what Jack was doing: he was making up for lost time. 

“Is everything alright, Miss?” Dot fretted. 

“Yes. It’s from Jack. I believe he’s proving a point.” She smiled as she folded the message up and placed it to the side. 

“A point, Miss?” She frowned. 

“It’s a rather long story.” Phryne excused. “Please continue, you were discussing your new home?”

It was a poor diversion, but Dot was delighted enough to keep talking about her new life. Phryne did the mental calculations. The next telegram had been sent from Java, and then a full letter from Singapore the day after that. Would Jack reply to the entire stack of mail sitting on his desk?

She had a feeling he might. 

OOOOO

Sure enough, over the next week and a half, Jack sent telegrams to Wardlow. Letters had been left on her pillow and on her breakfast tray respectively. Each one had touched her more than words could say. 

Phryne didn’t know why she was so taken with the idea of him writing the lost letters (surely, having him travel with her in person had been a fair trade for his silence) but she found it extremely romantic, imagining him reading her words, formulating his responses, thinking of clever ways to deliver them to her. The game, like the man himself, was somehow both playful and intimately serious. Jack’s thoughtfulness spoke volumes about his dedication to her (not that had she doubted it for a moment) and she found herself falling more in love with him with every note that passed through her hands. 

OOOOO

When Jack came strolling into Wardlow, he was prepared for anything, especially a frontal attack from the petite firebrand within. Sure enough, when he opened the door, he was met by Phryne herself.

“Hello.” He greeted her warmly as he removed his hat. 

“It’s Tuesday.” She informed him with a hopeful smile. 

“Is it?” He played dumb. 

“You owe me a letter.” 

She practically bounced up and down as he reached into his suit pocket and produced an envelope. 

She grabbed for it greedily but he pulled it back. 

“Payment first.” He demanded. She pulled him slowly by his tie into her perfume-soaked sphere and kissed him, lulling him into complacency before ripping the letter out of his hand and abruptly ending the kiss.

“Thank you.” She beamed as she skipped off to the parlor to read her prize. He knew why she was excited. They were up to India in her travels, when her lack of male companionship and sensual bright surroundings combined to leave her feeling utterly and totally sexually frustrated. Her letter to him had been a description of her daily sights: of candles, flowers, silk, and jewels. He was certain her frustration had skewed her view but the result had been a five page letter describing in graphic detail exactly what she had been fantasizing throughout her day. She’d tucked in a few illicit postcards with images from the Kama Sutra for good measure. 

Jack didn’t bother going into the parlor, but walked straight up the stairs to the bedroom. He managed to remove his jacket, tie, shoes, and cufflinks before she appeared in the doorway, flushed and panting. 

“Yes.” The syllable was as desperate as if she had said it during the throes of passion, answering every question he had posed in his letter. 

Jack nodded towards the bed and smirked with power as she followed orders, completely forgetting to lock the bedroom door in favor of stripping her blouse. She shimmied out of her trousers and was kneeling naked on the bed in no time at all. 

“Where should we start?” Jack locked the door on her behalf and started to unbutton his own shirt. He peeled it back off his shoulders and saw her appreciative stare. 

“Here.” She spread her legs and stroked herself teasingly as she waited for him to finish. 

Jack dropped his trousers and kicked them to the side. 

“I thought we were here because you were tired of pleasing yourself?” He countered with a crooked smile. 

“Only because you decided to take the long way around.” She raised an eyebrow, not giving in so easily. 

He kissed her into silence. 

“ _ Where should we start _ ?” He asked again, this time wanting a proper answer. 

“Kneel on the bed.” She requested, making room for him beside her.

Jack knew instantly which postcard she had in mind. It had been one of his favorite options. He got on his knees and placed one hand behind him on the bed, leaning back just a bit so Phryne could straddled his thighs. She was facing away from him but she had placed them so they could watch each other in the mirror at the foot of her bed.  

“You’ve planned this well.” He nodded towards the mirror. 

“Not at all, but let’s make the most of it.” She smirked as she moved forward onto her hands and knees, giving Jack the perfect entry into her body.  

At first, his only movement came from slow, experimental upwards thrusts of his hips. Sitting back on his heels with his knees pressed against the mattress, he could really only move up. He placed his free hand on the small of her back, steadying her, stroking her spine as he moved. She was so tight around him, he glanced in the mirror to make sure that he wasn’t hurting her but her eyes were blissfully closed. 

“Faster, Jack.” She arched her back and let out a gasp of otherworldly pleasure as he picked up his speed, each hard and fast thrust pushing him to the hilt inside her. 

“Yes, yes, yes.” She hissed with every thrust until her words became moans and her moans became frantic, desperate cries for release. 

The mirror was quickly forgotten as Jack’s eyes squeezed shut, focusing on the pleasure wracking his body. His thighs were burning and his chest heaving as he pistoned wildly into her. He couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, wanted nothing else but more of her, more of this. The pressure between them was almost too much to bear. He plunged into her one final time as her body clenched around him, trapping him inside her as she convulsed in front of him. He couldn’t stand the assailment and held her tightly by the hips as he emptied himself fully inside her.

He felt himself on the verge of passing out as everything went dim and silent for a moment and he fell bonelessly to the mattress. Once his body had secured enough oxygen to function again, he found Phryne, unmoving on the bed.

“Are you alive?” He pulled her backwards, flush against his chest, so he could examine her face. 

She hummed noncommittally, eyes barely open. 

“You?” She panted. 

“No.” He was quite certain that his eventual death would be less intense than whatever he had just experienced. 

“Sleep now.” She waved her hand behind her, blinding aiming for flesh. 

He wasn’t sure if it was a command or her own statement of intent but he wrapped his arms tightly around her and let himself drift off to sleep.

OOOOO

Phryne eased herself into the tub with a sigh. Her sore muscles protested just a bit as she sank quietly into the warm water but she smiled at the reminder of the pleasure Jack had wrought from her. 

His response to her letter had surprised her. She’d written rather blatantly about what she wanted from him, no teasing, no innuendo, and she’d wondered what he would think of such flagrant desire, especially since they hadn't shared a physical relationship at the time she’d written it. But if her intentions had been to get under his skin and finally break him with her letter, she’d been broken instead. His response hadn’t been one of stammering or blushing, it had been one of release. 

He’d answered all of her explicit questions in kind, no hint of the usual stoic repression she knew him for, but that may have stemmed from the quiet confidence of having already taken her to bed by the time he wrote the response. She’d taunted him with positions, options, what ifs, things that he’d answered shamelessly. He promised that as soon as they were reunited, she could have him any way she liked. He’d also assured her that one letter’s worth of fantasies was no match to the years of fantasies he’d hoarded while waiting for her and that she’d need to work harder if she wanted to keep up with his imagination. 

He was a constant surprise, her Jack. Just when she thought she knew him better than anyone else on the planet, he turned and confidently led her down a new path. 

Phryne had always assumed that they were two drastically different people who’d made drastically different life choices, but had found a middle ground through their work. Now, seeing him like this, she wasn’t so sure. After all, she considered herself adventurous and had spent the better part of two decades roaming the planet in extravagant style, only to feel the most at home a few kilometers away from where she first began. Jack, on the other hand, had planned a traditional, if not self-sacrificial, life for himself, dedicated to home and country, but still somehow managed to find his peace lying indulgently between the silk sheets of her bed. By any measure, Phryne figured that they could happily spend the foreseeable future feasting on that middle ground.

OOOOO

When Jack roused a short time later, he knew without opening his eyes that he was alone in bed. He could smell the dinner that Mr. Butler had no doubt spent the entire day preparing and his stomach rumbled covetously. A small splash from the other side of the room told him that Phryne was exiting her tub. 

“Good morning, Inspector.” Her warm, low voice was like honey in his ear. 

He groaned happily in response. 

“What time is it?” He asked groggily as the mattress tipped her way as she sat beside him. 

“Half nine.” 

“Jesus...” He murmured as he rubbed his eyes awake. “Have you eaten?” He asked. 

“No, I had grand schemes of waking you but you’ve ruined them.” She informed him with a small pout as she clutched her towel tighter around her. 

“Then the loss is entirely mine, Miss Fisher.” He lamented as he pulled her down closer to give her a long kiss in apology. 

When she pulled away, she wore that smitten smile that always appeared when he did something particularly charming. She swept his unruly hair to the side, more as an excuse to touch him than out of need. 

Jack realized that the only thing he’d done to deserve such a look was wake up in her bed. No quoting Shakespeare, gifting her pins, writing her love letters, or sailing across the world. After twenty years of fighting: to be good enough, to stay alive, to see justice won, having Phryne stare at him like that for simply lying beside her was heart-arresting to say the least.

“Everything alright?” She asked him, concerned and slightly suspicious of his silence.  

“Never better.” He answered hoarsely, pretending the lump he cleared from his throat had more to do with groggy disuse than emotion. 

“Good.” She smiled and he watched her disappear behind her privacy screen to dress for dinner. 

He remembered very clearly the moment he knew he was going to propose to Rosie. He’d been teasing her for something inconsequential and when he turned to disarm her with a charming smile, she was rolling her eyes at him. It was a tiny moment, but he’d felt something settle within him and he just knew.

Something was settling now.

“Phryne.” He called to her.

“Hmm?” 

“Can I be frank about something?”

“Always.” She came around the screen again, dress undone but on.

He motioned for her to come over so he could help her with the hooks. His fingers started before his lips did.

“Do you remember what you said in London about being unconventionally committed to me?”

“Yes.” She answered warily. 

“You were right. Our relationship won't look or behave the way one typically does. There won't be the same milestones, at least not in any sensible order, so I want to lay a very clear foundation so we don’t have any confusion later.” 

She nodded, encouraging him to continue.

“I have no desire to change our current arrangements but eventually, the topic of marriage is going to come up, if not by us, then by others.” He was certain of the latter. “And I don’t want you to think I’m secretly pining for a more traditional lifestyle. I’m not. I have my own reasons for doing things this way.” He stated firmly. “However,” he finished his task and turned her around to look into her eyes. “if one day, you wake up and hate the thought of leaving a single stone unturned in your life, I want you to know that I am willing to discuss it, and anything else you deem important. God knows as soon as I think I’ve closed the door on something, you always find a window to climb through.”

Her sheepishly guilty smile made him chuckle.

“You don’t want to get married or have children. You’re willing to traverse the planet to be with me while I handle my parents. You have a position of authority within the police and give me access to everything I need to be successful at work. You make love better than anyone I’ve ever met. You’re appallingly handsome. You quote Shakespeare and play the piano on command.” She tsked. “Do you have any weaknesses at all?” She wondered out loud. 

“I’m looking at her.” He replied honestly. 

Phryne’s eyes went impossibly dark as she climbed over his body, dress and all. 

“I am  _ impossibly _ in love with you.” She whispered before kissing him sweet and slow. When she pulled away again, he pressed his forehead against hers. 

“I’ll settle for possibly if it means that we can go down to dinner at a reasonable hour.” He smiled as his stomach growled. 

“I think we can manage both.” She laughed as she slid off of him. “You wash up. I’ll tell Mr. Butler we’re on our way down.” 

“Phryne?” He stopped her halfway to the door.

“Hmm?” 

“I love you too.” He smiled. “But I’ll give you the list of reasons later.”

“I’ll look forward to that.” She smiled as she left the room. 


End file.
